Steve Jobs - Inspirational

Steve Jobs – "I'm convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance"
Steven Paul Jobs (born February 24, 1955) is the co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Apple Inc and former CEO of Pixar Animation Studios. In the late 1970s, Jobs, with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, created one of the first commercially successful personal computers.
In 1976, Jobs, then 21, and Wozniak, 26, founded Apple Computer Co. in the Jobs family garage. The first personal computer was sold for $666.66. By 1980, Apple had already released three improved versions of the personal computer. It had a wildly successful IPO, which made both founders millionaires many times over. Steve Jobs had managed to rope in John Scully of Pepsi to head the marketing function in Apple.
Steve Jobs also started Pixar Inc., which has gone on to produce animated movies such as Toy Story (1995); A Bug's Life (1998); Toy Story 2 (1999); Monsters, Inc. (2001); Finding Nemo (2003); and The Incredibles (2004). This venture has made him one of the most sought after men in Hollywood.
Post Pixar, Steve Jobs wanted another round of revolutionizing to do. This time it was the music industry. He introduced the iPod in 2003. Later he came up with iTunes, which was a digital jukebox. A million and a half iPods later, the music industry still does not know whether this invention will save it or destroy it. Apple has a great advertising track record and its ‘Rip, Mix, Burn’ campaign was another feather in its cap. Now the industry uses a Mac to make the music and an iPod to store it.

10 Golden Lessons From Steve Jobs
"People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully"- Steve Jobs
Here’s a selection of some of his golden lessons to help you succeed in life, Jobs-style:

1. Steve Jobs said: "Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower."
Innovation has no limits. The only limit is your imagination. It’s time for you to begin thinking out of the box. If you are involved in a growing industry, think of ways to become more efficient; more customer friendly; and easier to do business with. If you are involved in a shrinking industry – get out of it quick and change before you become obsolete; out of work; or out of business. Procrastination is not an option here. Start innovating now!

2. Steve Jobs said: "Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected."
There is no shortcut to excellence. You will have to make the commitment to make excellence your priority. Use your talents, abilities, and skills in the best way possible and get ahead of others by giving that little extra. Live by a higher standard and pay attention to the details that really do make the difference. Excellence is not difficult - simply decide right now to give it your best shot - and you will be amazed with what life gives you back.

3. Steve Jobs said: "The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart,
you’ll know when you find it."
"Do what you love." Seek out an occupation that gives you a sense of meaning, direction and satisfaction in life. Having a sense of purpose and striving towards goals gives life meaning, direction and satisfaction. It not only contributes to health and longevity, but also makes you feel better in difficult times. Do you jump out of bed on Monday mornings and look forward to the work week? If the answer is ‘no’ keep looking, you’ll know when you find it.

4. Steve Jobs said: "You know, we don’t grow most of the food we eat. We wear clothes other people make. We speak a language that other people developed. We use a mathematics that other people evolved… I mean, we’re constantly taking things. It’s a wonderful, ecstatic feeling to create something that puts it back in the pool of human experience and knowledge."
Live in a way that is ethically responsible. Try to make a difference in this world and contribute to the higher good. You’ll find it gives more meaning to your life and it’s a great antidote to boredom. There is always so much to be done. And talk to others about what you are doing. Don’t preach or be self-righteous, or fanatical about it, that just puts people off, but at the same time, don’t be shy about setting an example, and use opportunities that arise to let others know what you are doing.

5. Steve Jobs said: "There’s a phrase in Buddhism, ‘Beginner’s mind.’ It’s wonderful to have a beginner’s mind."
It is the kind of mind that can see things as they are, which step by step and in a flash can realize the original nature of everything. Beginner’s mind is Zen practice in action. It is the mind that is innocent of preconceptions and expectations, judgements and prejudices. Think of beginner’s mind as the mind that faces life like a small child, full of curiosity and wonder and amazement.

6. Steve Jobs said: "We think basically you watch television to turn your brain off, and you work on your computer when you want to turn your brain on."
Reams of academic studies over the decades have amply confirmed television’s mental and moral influences. And most TV watchers know that their habit is mind-numbing and wasteful, but still spend most of their time in front of that box. Be cautious, you can turn your brain off by using a computer also. It is impossible to try and have an intelligent conversation with someone who plays first person shooters for 8 hours a day, auto race games or role-playing games.

7. Steve Jobs said: "I’m the only person I know that’s lost a quarter of a billion dollars in one year…. It’s very character-building."
Don’t equate making mistakes with being a mistake. There is no such thing as a successful person who has not failed or made mistakes, there are successful people who made mistakes and changed their lives or performance in response to them, and got it right the next time. They viewed mistakes as warnings rather than signs of hopeless inadequacy. Never making a mistake means never living life to the full.

8. Steve Jobs said: "I would trade all of my technology for an afternoon with Socrates."
Over the last decade, numerous books featuring lessons from historical figures have appeared on the shelves of bookstores around the world. And Socrates stands with Leonardo da Vinci, Nicholas Copernicus, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein as a beacon of inspiration for independent thinkers. But he came first. Cicero said of Socrates that, "He called philosophy down from the skies and into the lives of men." So use Socrates’ principles in your life, your work, your learning, and your relationships. It’s not about Socrates, it’s really about you, and how you can bring more truth, beauty and goodness into your life everyday.

9. Steve Jobs said: "We’re here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise why else even be here?"
Did you know that you have big things to accomplish in life? And did you know that those big things are getting rather dusty while you pour yourself another cup of coffee, and decide to mull things over rather than do they? We were all born with a gift to give in life, one which informs all of our desires, interests, passions and curiosities. This gift is, in fact, our purpose. And you don’t need permission to decide your own purpose. No boss, teacher, parent, priest or other authority can decide this for you. Just find that unique purpose.

10. Steve Jobs said: "Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."
Are you tired of living someone else’s dream? No doubt, its your life and you have every right to spend it in your own individual way without any hurdles or barriers from others. Give yourself a chance to nurture your creative qualities in a fear-free and pressure-free climate. Live a life that YOU choose and be your own boss.

Essential for Starting a Company Website.

If you have a company, then it goes without saying that you must have a Company Website; or More importantly Portfolio website which highlights all the works and achievements of your company. It has to be:

1. Elegant Design.
2. Light weight (Not taking enough time to load).
3. Good Navigation (Visitor can visit as much pages as possible from a given page).
4. Comphrensive (Must have all the details required).

There is always the option of designing one from scratch. It can have the following advantages:

1. Then one can have the total control over the code.
2. Any customization to be made will be easy.

But then

1. It will be time consuming.
2. Much technical expertise will be required.
3. You might skip some of the important elements, which you could have added based on the experience.

So its always suggested to use one of the already available open source CMS (Content Management System) for the same. Then we can have the following advantages:

1. We can save much time, since the code is ready, we just need to cutomize.
2. We can add functionalities by adding plugins which are readily available.
3. We can add theme files, which are available for free.

So I would recomend the following code/Programming languages for the same:

1. Wordpress (CMS).
2. jQuery (Javascript Framework, to add UI and Ajax effects).
3. CSS to add style elements for the same.

Plugins for wordpress which can come handy are:

1. Breadcumb navigation.
2. Pagination.
3. GD Star plugin.
4. Contact 7 Form plugin.
5. Tag Cloud Plugin.

Plugins for jQuery which can come handy are:

1. Tabs plugin.
2. Ajax form submit plugin.
3. Form Validator plugin.
4. jCarousal plugin.
5. LightBox plugin.

The list can be furthur updated with your suggestions and recomendations. Please help me with it.

Promoting your Company.

After setting up your company or even before doing it, promoting it becomes the main concern. People are needed to be made aware of the Company, so that they can refer it to potential business partners or bring business to you directly. The various methods which can be adopted to promote and advertise your company are as follows:

1. Verbal advertising. There is no substitute to verbally propagating the existence of your company. Is its easy and it is free. Companies like Google and Barista have adopted this method. You can never see an ad for Google and Barista in Media. The better the Friend Circle you have and the better the friend circle your friends have, the better is the promotion cycle. In this method, allow the work to speak for you.

2. Make Profiles in the following websites:
a} Orkut
b) Facebook
c) Myspace
d) Hi5
e) Twitter
f) LinkedIn
g) Apnacircle

Invite friends and tell them about the company. Make the profile public, so that they can be accessed by everyone interested.

3. Send mails to interested friends so that they can follow your progress and may communicate the same to their friends. You can never know from which direction the help might come.

4. Blog about the progress of your company, the beliefs, the strategy adopted and post the link in Twitter, Social Networking websites, Tag line of Chats etc.

5. Maintain a website of the company and keep your contact information up to date. Give a professional look to the website.

6. In the above website, use Google Analytics, Cluster Maps, Hit Counter, to keep a track of the number of users and their locations.

7. Maintain a forum, in which maintain the codes. So that it may interest other inquisitive minds to appreciate your approach and efforts, so that they main consider bringing you business.

Advertising and Promotion requires dynamic approach and innovative ideas. Along with the present methods, there can be numerous others which can contribute to the progress of the company. Please feel free to contribute your ideas.

Quality Process in the Company.

Quality seems to be a Trivial matter as far as startups are concerned, but in the long run, they really do matter. I am listing down a series of practices, which if followed can improve the productivity of the company and help keep track of the processes.

1. An Excel sheet needs to be shared amongst the employees in LAN, with the setting that multiple people can work on that at the same time.

2. Use Excel sheet as the time sheet for the employees to enter their daily actual hours.

3. The time sheet should have the details of the work on each day and the version of the files checked in the VSS after every day against each work.

4. Supporting documents for each work done can be attached as a future reference.

5. There should be a Sheet in the last page, which will contain the links in an formatted manner, which can give insights to problems encountered in work.

6. Code repository should be maintained in the Server with the links in an Excel sheet with a small description of how the code can be used.

7. All financial Transactions and Appointments should be maintained by the HR/Finance guy/girl of the Company (For a startup, single person has to do multiple jobs, moreover transactions would nut be huge).

Maintaining the Quality is taken seriously in many companies which are certified as CMM5, CMMI5 level companies. They have their own benefits which can be witnessed in the long run.

Anyone who want to add something to the above existing link is always welcome.

Software Usage for Maximum Productivity.

Now with all the hardware and software in place, the next main component for starting a company is the effectiveness with which the resources can be utilized. The main practices to be followed are as follows:

1. Have a VSS (Visual source safe) or SourceOffSite to manage your files. Every day before doing any code changes, the latest files need to be checked out, the changes are to be made and the files needs to be checked with correct comments for better maintainance of code history.

2. Every PC in the company should have a particular folder structure. Files should not be stored haphazardly and should be well maintained.

3. A dedicated folder needs to be maintained for Cheat Sheets for referring them when required.

4. All the required folders should be present in form of shortcut icons in the quick launch bar, so that the browsing becomes easier and time saving.

5. Maintain a template for website. e.g. maintain a folder path like

d:\Projects\Website\

in d:\Projects\Templates the following folders needs to be present.

a)CSS - for having any css files or css frameworks e.g. 960 degree.
b)JAVASCRIPT - for having any js files or javascript frameworks e.g Jquery.
c)BUSINESSLAYER - For having all the class files for logic of code.
d)DBLAYER - For code to connect to the database and manipulate them.

and Code files e.g index.aspx

These files and folders need to be copied into the folder d:\Projects\Website\SiteName every time a new website is created.

6. Last but not the least, use file comparison tools like SourceGear DiffMerge, for comparing files and merging them before taking or uploading any file from VSS.

Following these practices can increase the productivity of the project. Any suggestions are welcome whole heartedly.

Softwares Required.

Now is the time for selecting the sophisticated weapons to prepare for the war. It depends on basically 3 factors.

1. Supporting Open Source.
2. Supporting propitiatory software.
3. Ok with the express/demo editions. (Not advisable)

Since an IT company can be of many types, but basically I will be covering the web development part, because that seems to be easy while starting a company.

So the advisable tools of the trade are:

1. Windows XP (98 is outdated and Vista is slow). People are more familier with windows.

2. Visual Studio 2008/Php, Depending on which language you are comfortable with.

3. Mozilla as the browser. With Plugins installed (I will give a list in my next post).

4. Thunderbird E-Mail Client (With the Event Calender plugin Installed).

5. Microsoft Office 2007 (Word, Powerpoint, Excel).

6. SQL/MySQL, depending upon choice.

7. VLC player. It can literally play anything.

This list will be updated with each passing enlightenment I get about Softwares. Hopefully you can also contribute in the Comments section. I will add the same to the List.

Hardwares & Utensils

Hardware is a highly flexible investment which may depend on various factors as follows:
1. Size of the company (Number of People).
2. Clients of the Company.
3. Service based or Product based company.
4. Budget for the Start up.
5. Location of the company. etc.

Many Companies like Google, Microsoft had started their office from Garage. It has become a jinx for every company to follow them. But not necessarily that can lead to success. For that you need to be either a Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Larry Page or Sergy Brin.

Personally I feel the following stuff are enough to get a company to run decently for a long period of time.

1. A big conference table in a descent 300 Sq Ft. area. It is also supposed to be the main development room. The alignments must be in form of 1,2,1,2 on the four sides of the table, where the sides with single people are the persons who started the company.

2. The room should have a white/glass board with a marker/duster. It is utmost necessary to develop ideas and to explain them.

3. Probably a projector can do wonders during presentations (Even sometimes to see a movie for relaxation).

4. A coffee vending machine with provision for tea, coffee, soup or health drink. Those guys in IT knows that, a software engineer cannot go through a complete day without having coffee, tea.

5. A/C (Air Conditioner) is necessary for that fact that, with so many PC's operating in the same place, the head needs to be replaced to make the place comfortable.

6. Descent lighting facility. Dim lighting can put stress on the eyes and Heavy lighting can make you uncomfortable.

7. Attached Bathroom facility with automatic door lock to prevent odour from entering the room. Probably a double door facility can help in this regard. The bathroom needs to be clean, well maintained and spacious with all utensils available.

8. A small reception area, where every incoming person can be scrutinized so that work should not be disturbed by mail man, courier man etc.

9. One printer/scanner for obvious stuff.

10. Stack of utensils like papers, notebooks, pencils, pens, stickers, scissors, gum, pins, clips etc available in abundance.

11. One server PC, with assembled high performance parts. probably a CPU without Screen and Keyboard/Mouse should do. It should have the best quality motherboard. around 1 TB of hard disk, best processor, No CD/DVD rom (So that data cannot be written some where else), good heavy quantity of RAM etc.

12. One 1 TB hard disk to take the backup from main server when required.

13. 7 PC (6 for working + 1 in the reception). Desktop PC are preferred over Laptops, because they are robust, speeder, easily upgradeable, easily customizable, cheapness and Data security (Data in office and not carried home in laptop).

14. One central phone with speaker phone facility with VOIP in the development room and one phone with just speaker phone facility in the reception. Any calls to the office are to be received in the reception and transferred to office room, not to create any disturbance during working.

15. Couch/Sofa for visitors.

16. Some wall hanging and plants to enhance the beauty of the place.

17. A soothing surround sound speaker is an optional luxury.

18. An internet Connection, something around 2MBPS will be good. Probably a wireless one to avoid wire congestion.

If I have missed any thing, please feel free to add in the comments so that I can include that in the post.